Pages

Saturday, 14 April 2018

Guest Author Connie Shipley of Italy

There is a
saying, “Tuscany, like a fine wine, has been some time in the making…

One of the special things about Tuscany is that
our guest calls the region home. Meet Connie Shipley and enjoy her 4Q
Interview.

Hi, and thanks
for having me on your blog. Now what can I say about myself? I was born in
Belgium, although my parents were British. Well actually dad was, but mom was
Belgian and became British through marriage. I spent my childhood there and
visited the UK at least once a year. Our house was full of books, history,
military stuff, as my dad had been in the military and had fought during WW2.
He passed the love of books onto me and he used to make up funny stories, so I
guess I got the fantasy side from him. I
studied foreign languages, physiotherapy, and osteopathy. Soon after my
studies, I traveled to the Middle East for work. I was fortunate to have met interesting people
and I had the privilege of attending embassy socials, as well as observing
military training which was quite exciting. I’ve done quite a bit of traveling for work
and for pleasure, so most countries and locations I write about, I have visited
in the past.

Today I’m
married and living in Tuscany, with my Italian husband and three dogs. I’m an
avid researcher, always out on the look for new ideas. I don’t quite remember
why I started writing, but it was two years ago, with my first novel
MoonHuntress. I created a series, so now there are three completed books. I
love complex characters and the psychology that surrounds them. I always try to
show the reader how my characters really are, what they think, how they live,
feel, their emotions. I also love fashion, so there’s the feminine side to my
books as well. I hope you enjoy the series.

4Q: You have
a successful series named “MoonHuntress,”
which is also the name of the first novel in the series. How did this series
come about? What inspired the stories?

CS: It
started out as a completely different story about a Sisterhood, but there were
far too many characters, so I began to remove them. Then, after talking to some
military friends and doing some research, I began to write the first draft of
MoonHuntress. Now, as I said before I’ve lived and worked in the Middle East,
so many characters are based on real people but of course the entire story is
invented. I never really know what’s going to happen with the characters, so I
just write as I go. And when I arrived at the end of the first book, I thought,
why not continue, and write a series. So, I went back to the story-board,
talked to military friends with their specific knowledge on tactics, weapons,
strategy, and went from there. There’s also a lot of research in my books,
which I love doing. If you like action, adventure,
and a dash of romance, this is the series!

4Q: In the
second book of this series, SoulCatcher, your heroine is Bina Knopfler. Tell us
about her.

CS: Bina
Knopfler is already introduced and the main character in the first book of the
series. She’s the protagonist. She’s a Mossad agent. She’s beautiful, clever,
and very strong minded and determined (a bit like me, yes). But she also has
her weak side, she isn’t perfect, and she makes mistakes. Life hasn’t been easy
on her, and she pretty much has been a loner. But through the story, she needs
to face the truth, and it’s a hard truth.

Then of
course there’s romance, but you’ll have to read the books, I’m not giving out
any spoilers, ha!

4Q: Pleased
share a childhood anecdote or favorite memory.

CS: My
favorite memory is my childhood at the beach. I think I had the best childhood
ever. We used to live in a beach town. So, every summer was great fun going to
the beach with my cousins. Playing in the sand, digging holes, swimming in the
sea. My cousin and I used to have two bathing suits, one dry one, and one to go
swimming, we used to change them every ten minutes, making our mums go crazy.
It was fun.

4Q: There
are three books in the series with the third called The Golden Key and all
sound intriguing. Two have also been translated into Italian. What’s next for
Connie Shipley?

CS: Well I’m
working together with my American editor on an upcoming book, a paranormal
thriller.I’m very excited about this
project. It’s completely different, very intriguing and hope the readers will
love it as we explore a wing of the esoteric world. Plus, in the meantime I’m
working with my Italian editor on the translation of the Golden Key. It’s a lot
of work and it’s keeping me quite busy.

Once I’m
finished with the thriller, I’m going to work on the final book of the
MoonHuntress series. So watch out!!

Thank you,
Connie, for sharing your thoughts and writing and for being our guest this
week.

For those
that are interested in discovering more about Connie and her novels, use these
links.

Google+ Badge

Subscribe To The Scribbler

Total Pageviews

Now Available

Wall of War

Allan Hudson

About Me

My mother taught me to read, to like books, when I was very young. She also taught me how to write. I grew up in the country, even went to a one-room school which was right across the road from our house. She was the teacher. The days I missed were few.

Writing is so much fun and even though I started later in life, I am so happy to realize my dream. Having this blog so I can share other people's work gives me great pleasure.

I've had many adventures in my life. I've travelled throughout North America, gone skydiving, rock climbing, wilderness camping. I craft stained glass and I enjoy woodworking. I'm blessed with many good friends.

I live in the seaside community of Cocagne, New Brunswick, Canada. My wife's name is Gloria. My son's name is Adam and my stepsons' names are Christopher (Mireille) and Mark (Nathalie) Young. My grandchildren are Matthieu, Natasha and Damien. I love them all.

Thank you for visiting. I hope you enjoy my blog. You can reach me by leaving a comment and/or your email address and I'll respond.

Family and Friends.

Review of Wall of War

Buy it Here

Wall of War is available at Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Cover to Cover in Riverview, Cocagne Variety in Cocagne and from the author.

The Douglas Kyle Memorial Award for Fiction

My story - The Ship Breakers - received Honorable Mention in the Douglas Kyle Memorial awards for New Brunswick Writers Federation's short story category. Watch for it with the coming selection of short stories to be published in 2018